March 14, 2014Aim: Did the Sedition Act violate the First Amendment?

• Do Now: – Are there any factors preventing you from fully

exercising your right to free speech?

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Context: • WWI• Charles Schenck was arrested for distributing

anti-war literature. Schenck was convicted of sedition (treason).

• Schenck sues citing the 1st Amendment.

Task:

• You are Supreme Court Justices deciding Schenck’s appeal.

In teams, decide:1. Should Schenck’s conviction be overturned? 2. Support your decision with two pieces of

evidence from the “prior laws and decisions” on your handout.

Verdict1. The SC ruled unanimously (9-0) in

upholding Schenck’s conviction.

2. Declared the Sedition Act a reasonable and acceptable limitation on speech in times of war.

3. Shenck was sentenced to 6 months in prison.

The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done. The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting “Fire!” in a theatre and causing a panic…

The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent…

When a nation is at war many things that might be said in time of peace are such a hindrance to its effort that their utterance will not be endured so long as men fight and that no Court could regard them as protected by any constitutional right.

Supreme Court Ruling: Delivered by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Clear and Present Danger Ruling

1. The First Amendment would not protect a man from shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. No one has the right to use free speech to place others in danger.

2. Congress has the right to prevent words that cause a clear and present danger and will result in evils.

Exit Slip

• Do you still agree with your team’s ruling? Why or why not? Use “facts from the case” and “prior laws and decisions” to support your answer.

• Write your team’s final decision in the space provided.

Which Americans opposed WWI?

• Socialists• Pacifists• Anarchists• Women’s groups• Intellectuals

Why did these Americans oppose WWI?

• U.S. was entering the war to benefit capitalists, not to “make the world safe for democracy.”

Woodrow Wilson – 1916 Presidential Campaign Buttons

1917 – Wilson urges Congress to approve war declaration against Germany.

1917 – Wilson establishes the Committee on Public Information – propaganda agency.

1917 – Espionage Act Passed1918 – Sedition Act Passed

• Both suppressed anti-British, pro-German, and Anti-war opinions.